Have read Sayaka Murata before and seeing another of her books in Netgalley shelf prompt me to read it. This book takes you on a whirlwind journey making you feel variety of emotions, her stories are but unconventional and weird but they are the perfect amount of weird I appreciate. Wonderful book!

I find it hard to review short story collections. And even harder to review Murata’s work. However, there’s just something so compelling about her writing. Sure, it’s weird and slightly disturbing in parts but I don’t know, I kind of like it. I think there’s some great thought provoking stories, but then there’s some that just some that seem a little half-baked. 3.5 rounded up.

I really liked "Earthlings" by Sayaka Murata,her macarbre sense of humour and her characters dislocation from "normal" life resonate with me but I felt this collection of short stories was little lacking. The stories all started with really interesting premises and scenarios but they tended to not have a good pay off, they either just ended with things left hanging or petered out as if some were ideas for novels that didn't quite have enough momentum to run with.. Like all short story collections some stories were better than others. I think I prefer Murata's novels, so I'll forward to the next one..

It's safe to say I will read anything by Sayaka Murata - I adore her take on society and what it means to conform to normality.

Once again, Life Ceremony does not disappoint. Each story with its own take on society and sometimes questioning the norms and morals of the people in the tale. Some of the stories are harder to read than others, but each with their own reason and purpose. I was left pondering after each one, and if the purpose was not obvious to me - I would take some time to think about the reasoning of that short.

I know many people discovered Sayaka Murata off of the success of Convience Store Woman and maybe had a shock when they picked up Earthlings. And this book of short stories I had to jump at the chance to pick up.

The short stories were titled:

A First-Rate Material
A Magnificent Spread
A Summer's Nights Kiss
Twos Family
The Time of the Large Star
Poochie
Life Ceremony
Body Magic
Lovers on the Breeze
Eating the City
Puzzle
Hatchling

Some longer than others, some making you question your own morals, and making you think "would i?".

As well as some heart warming tales where you pine for certain people. I could easily see some of these Short Story themes making it into future Black Mirror episodes - or at least something which commentates on the human race and the future of society.

I dont want to go into spoiler territory but I would recommend you maybe taking this at a slower pace, even limiting yourself to one short per day. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and if anything it's just left me wanting more Murata immediately!

PS: I think my favourite short story was Life Ceremony and the grimicing look into society, the future, and how things that feel morally wrong can be rewritten for the public perception and become the norm over time.

Sayaka Murata's latest translated work, a short story collection, is what I'd describe as deeply disturbing yet wildly intoxicating. Every single story resonated with me in such a profound manner, exploring the human condition and conformity within a society. Murata builds a semi-dystopic reality with each story that is peppered with the absurd and surreal, yet provides commentary for what it means to live outside the confines of the orthodox. Her words speak into the existence of the unconscious thoughts lurk in corners of our minds and the whims we briefly give rise to. I adore stories that are rooted in the weird while still preserving meaning rooted in reality. Some favourites from the collection include A Magnificent Spread, Two's Family, Life Ceremony and Hatchling. Just a star down for a few of the stories that were a little too short or dragged a little too long. Safe to say that Murata is definitely en route to becoming one of my favourite writers of all time!

Thank you Netgalley and Granta Books for this ARC.

This is my first time reading Sayaka Murata after hearing much about her, and this wasn't what I was expecting. This almost reminded me of something Jen Campbell would write, or even a bit Black Mirror-ish.

This collection of short stories was weird, and I wasn't sure if I should be disturbed, or laughing. In the end I did a combination of both.

I felt the ideas came first, characters second. But then that could also be because of the structure of short stories. They do limit writers and readers from really getting to know the characters. I liked how the ideas were explored though, and how they got me thinking.

In the end, I can see some people liking this. But had I known more of what it was about beforehand, I probably would have steered clear of it and wouldn't have felt I was missing out. It's just not for me.

I should have been unshockable in the wake of 'Earthlings'... but apparently not! Once again, certainly not for the faint of heart - and I definitely do not recommend reading body horror as you eat your lunch like I did...

Murata is a really unique voice and the stories hang well together as a collection. That being said, I found that the stories echoed and sometimes downright repeated each other, to such an extent it became distracting. The collection also intrinsically lacked the wonderful cohesion and emotion of Murata's two novels - but this might be because of the form rather than the writing itself.

A must for existing fans or anyone looking for a - delicately put! - quirky read... but sadly, for me, not as enjoyable as her previous! Anxiously anticipating Murata's next novel :)

‘Normal is a type of madness, isn’t it? I think it’s just that the only madness the society allows is called normal.’

So, I’ve heard that earthlings was bizarre, but I have doubts that it surpasses this book. Set in a trippy alternate reality, or possible near future, Life Ceremony breached numerous topics: cannibalism, conformity, consumer culture, identity, sex, etc. from highly unusual perspectives through twelve short stories.

Sayaka Murata definitely has a very singular and unique voice. It was fascinating and occasionally thought-provoking to read her views and how she tackled taboo subjects from outlandish angles. I think there was something almost satirical and absurd in a few of the stories, which I enjoyed. I especially liked ‘hatchling’ solely due to the ending, which freaked me out the most for some reasons.

However, there were some parts that I found rather excessively gross and disturbing even though I’m not a particularly squeamish person (especially in 'puzzle'). I felt that this might have undermined the main ideas and made them fall flat.

In a nutshell: think Black Mirror but with marginally less depth and weirder concepts. Although the standard somewhat fluctuated throughout the book for me, I think it is worth picking up if you want a read beyond your imagination of weirdness.

This was my first Sayaka Murata read, and while I absolutely get the hype surrounding her writing, I did get the feeling that something was missing. As unique and well written as it was, I wouldn’t class it as extraordinary, but I did however thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve heard that Murata’s other stories are equally bizarre as this one, which led me to the immediate urge of buying all her previous work, but I haven’t acted on it yet (let me keep at least a sliver of self-restraint please).

Life Ceremony is a short story collection discussing things from eating human flesh and using humans as resources, to asexual couples and artificial inseminations. Just from that description alone you might have a few questions, and trust me, I do too. It felt as though these stories were set somewhere in the future, or in a parallel universe that Murata has created, where humanity has evolved and the norms are completely different. In that way, it’s an incredibly interesting concept, and the atmosphere that she creates is both disturbing and dark.

One of my favourite stories from this collection was “Hatchling”. It follows Haruka, a seemingly normal woman, who has accidentally created five different personalities of herself in the hope of fitting in with different friendship groups. I thought Murata discusses the phenomenon of being “fake” in a very clever way, as she also talks about the possibility of there not even being an “original you” in the first place. She poses the question; how do we even know how we actually are if we always cater ourselves to other people? It’s something I know I’ve thought about many times before, and it was extremely gratifying to see how she handled the subject.

As I said before, this book has left me with innumerable questions and possible things to discuss, and I’m very curious to read more of her work.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of this book through @netgalley and I’m beyond thankful for it <3

Thank you to Granta Publications and NetGalley for an advance reader copy of Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata.

Another weird and wonderful addition to the catalogue of books written by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Murata's stories and way of seeing the world never fail to blow me away and this selection of twelve short stories was no different.

Murata is one of the most unique writers of her generation and I can't wait to see more, I'm a big fan. My personal favourite of the collection was 'Life Ceremony' the books name sake, I cannot stop thinking about this story and will definitely be revisiting in the future.

A collection of short stories often with strange or surreal elements some of which i suspect are deliberately written to be distasteful .A story about a world where human bodies are used to make furniture and fabrics after death which made my skin crawl but made me question why it is acceptable to do this with the bodies of animals
The story about an asexual couple submitting to artificial methods of sex to conceive a child also was disturbing to me
The author speaks out subjects that are taboo or frowned upon to write about in these short stories .I found the prose style easy to read but the whole book rather disturbing.If art can be said to be successful if it leaves a lasting impression then I suppose the stories can be said to have been successful .I shall remember the stories for a long while .Having said that but wouldn’t be recommending the book

I really enjoyed this short story collection and I’m so thankful I received an ARC! Murata’s short stories are just as striking and strange as her fiction, and I love how she is exploring more themes similar to Earthlings in this collection.

The title story really messed me up and I just had to explain it to my boyfriend after finishing it because I couldn’t believe what I’d just read. The stories in this all have a similar sinister feel but deal with so many different taboo topics.

Murata has become an author I will read absolutely anything by and I’m so glad she is unafraid to explore the weird and the absurd in her fiction. This collection will be a brilliant addition to her body of work exploring these themes. Really recommend this one especially if you enjoyed Earthlings.

Life Ceremony is a fascinating and creative short story collection by sayaka murata. It can be a little disturbing and creepy sometimes, but I truly enjoyed many of them. They were thought-provoking in the way they examined human society and norms.

A favorite is ths first story, A First Rate Material, is about human remains and honoring the dead. It was definitely one of the ones that were on the creepier side. Another I enjoyed was A Magnificent Spread, a little more bizarre than creepy, with food and culture as its main themes. I also really liked the titular short story, Life Ceremony — a celebration of life through food and sex. Lastly, there is Hatchling, which talks about self-concepts and self-schemas and how one is perceived.

Others that I didn't like as much but still enjoyed are Poochie — about two girls' unlikely pet, and Eating the City, which brought back some nostalgia for me about childhood and the countryside.

The only one I didn't really like was Puzzle. Some of the themes there I am very much on the squeamish side on, so I found myself skimming some parts because I wasn't really enjoying myself.

Overall, this short story collection has made me eager to read more of the author's work. I love the way they write and the themes and commentaries they make intrigue me. I will definitely be picking up their other books soon and will be looking out for more of their work.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. I had heard great things about the author and has been told that I’d like their style of writing and I really did
Often in short story collections there are some weak ones and some strong one but I am struggling to think of a weak link in this anthology. I enjoyed every story. My favourite ones where the ones that seemed linked to other stories, or maybe I was reading too much into things and making links that weren’t there.
These stories covered topics that I perhaps wouldn’t usually read about such as cannibalism and but in a thought provoking way. This collection of short stories gave me a lot to think about and I will be seeking out more books by this author
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ebook in exchange for an honest review

What a wild ride! Definitely not for the faint-hearted and be prepared for very gruesome descriptions. Still, very gripping and fast-pacing short stories that aim to leave you wandering about what's normal.

Life Ceremony is a completely weird, out-there collection of short stories, with themes spanning death, social acceptance, food and human relationships.

I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories but I really enjoyed this book - though it's not for the faint-hearted at times, as it is quite gruesome.

I felt like I was on a trip. This collection made me feel shock, horror, fear, surprise, more fear, and more surprise. I really enjoyed this. This is the kind of collection that makes you want to pick up a pen and write, it truly expands the mind.

Short stories that are just right.
I like how Sayaka creates stories which don’t leave you wanting too much more they’re sufficient.
Stories relating to preferences, be things that we wouldn’t even dream of.
Cultural issues; One story showed that we can live together without having to take on someone else’s culture if that’s not what we choose to do. We can still live in harmony and enjoy each other.
Stories of friendship, whatever it may look like to others…it works for them and their family and that’s all that matters.
Very interesting, I will definitely read more from Sayaka.
Definitely a thoroughly thought provoking read.
Thank you :)

Mixing taboo-breaking body horror with feminist revenge fables, old ladies who love each other and young women finding empathy and transformation in unlikely places, Life Ceremony is a wild ride to the outer edges of one of the most original minds in contemporary fiction. Loved some more than others but overall a solid four star read.

A sweater made of human hair. Pasta with peach and coriander. A country where no one sleeps. Sex and cannibalism at funerals. A pet curtain.

This collection of short stories by the author of Convenience Store Woman was weird and disgusting but certainly makes you think. Some were better and more entertaining than others. My favorites: A First-Rate Material, A Magnificent Spread, Life Ceremony, and A Summer Knight's Kiss. The other stories I could frankly do without - some were unnecessarily disgusting and downright "WTF??"

Still, so much love for Sayaka Murata and how she continues to explore and challenge societal norms, even if she does make you cringe and dry-heave every now and then. ;-)

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy. #LifeCeremony